Financial News: Italy's Industrial Production Declines Most On Record

Italy's Industrial Production Declines Most On Record

05/11/2020 - 05:19:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Italy's industrial production declined at the fastest pace on record in March as factories were closed amid coronavirus containment measures, data released by the statistical office Istat showed on Monday.

Industrial production decreased 28.4 percent month-on-month in March, following a 1 percent decrease in February. Economists had forecast a monthly fall of 20 percent.
This was the biggest fall since the series began in 1990 and also exceeded the weakness seen during global financial crisis in 2008-2009.

On a yearly basis, industrial production plunged 29.3 percent after easing 2.3 percent in February. Production has been falling since March 2019. Output was expected to drop 20.7 percent.

All main sectors logged contraction in March with transport and textile industries reporting more than 50 percent declines.